₦airaland Forum

source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2013/02/letter-bomb-kills-one-injures-policeman-in-lagos/

Some of us here who are non Abians dont understand the level at which Abia rebuilding and laying solid foundations for subsequent governments to build on. We Abians are happy and we are not complaining because we can see what is going on in the state ourselves. Not someone in Lagos or UK trying to tell us what is happening in our area.

Over 16 major roads is being constructed in Aba Abia state

My brother if you be from Abia state and you know the old gariki in Umuahia, that place is being cleared and a super retail store - Shoprite will be erected. Which is a smart move as the gate market will be relocated.

okpara ugo: Abeg wey shoprite dey for Umuahia?

I found out that most people on this thread are not Abians and so does not know the importance of relocating the market. For we in Abia, we are grateful, for you outside Abia you can only make a fool of yourself. Aproko no be work ooo

Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State has a dream. He has a dream that one day Aba, the great Enyimba City, the Japan of Africa, would take its pride of place among the great industrialised cities of the world. Like Joseph of old, I can interpret the dream of the king. And today, Orji has stepped into Aba in a grand style, to stamp his feet and to leave his footprint in the sands of time.

A fortnight ago, he flagged off the construction of 16 new roads in the city. This is a fulfilment of his promise to launch a massive infrastructural renewal of the city immediately after the rain. The governor recognises the crucial place of Aba in the economy of the state. He recognises the rare creative talent which germinates in Aba. He recognises that no exploration on the history of the great entrepreneurs of the world can be complete without the mention of the giant minds of Aba. And true to his promise, he has re-entered Aba with a Midas touch and his dream is to leave a legacy.

Perhaps Orji, being a literary scholar, must have stumbled on Longman’s immortal lines: “The heights by great men all remind us, we must make our lives sublime and, in parting, leave behind us footprints in the sands of time.” He has an inspiring predilection for footprints – legacies, both tangible and intangible, the indelible memories that transcend life and time. This can be accentuated by the new four-storey secretariat complex, the ultra-modern conference hall, the new Government House complex, and a host of other projects in the state. He has a passion for monuments and for the good that is not interred with our bones. In Abia, the story is about the legacy projects and the current dream is to make Aba a living legacy.

Aba has been the centre of criticism against the Ochendo government. But the critics did not seem to understand the history of the cumulative decay of the city which started with the previous administrations of the state. They did not also factor the fact that Orji has only a paltry N3.5 billion monthly federal allocation to cater for the entire state. But today, Orji has marched into Aba to match action with words and his vision is to create an enabling environment for the reemergence of the small and medium scale enterprises and for the growth of the informal sector in Aba. He wants to restore the lost glory of Aba.
Indeed, Aba is rich in history. The city is key not only to the Igbos but to the entire people of Nigeria and Africa. Apart from its political history with the Aba Women Riot of 1929, there is a rare ingenuity and dexterity for creativity and innovation which germinate in Aba. In little corners of the ancient city, little men of giant minds replicate the kind of creative imagination for which the three Japanese cities of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are known. Today, the new political will of Ochendo is to rebuild and transform the city, and the determination to re-invent the Japan of Africa.
Aba is also the commercial hub of Abia State and the business epicentre of the South-East. A greater percentage of the state’s internally-generated revenue (IGR) comes from Aba. It is a city of commerce and enterprise and a place where men sit back in their backyards and try to design, create or develop a product. By the time Aba was in its glory, it was a great centre of business. People came in hordes from all areas of the West African sub-region to buy the Aba-made goods. The city made a great contribution to the Nigerian economy, contributing both to the industrial growth and tourism.

Besides the people’s creativity, Aba also played host as zonal headquarters of many multi-nationals. During the civil war, the area sustained the secessionist Biafra in the area of local food production. But suddenly, Aba fell from the pinnacle of its glory to the backwaters. Without any measure of control, the once beautiful city built by the colonial government became a mad house. The situation was worsened by the menace of flood and filth. Makeshift kiosks sprung up everywhere and people built on top of drainages. Without an enabling environment, the small and medium scale enterprises began to die. The final death knell was the spate of insecurity witnessed in the area in recent times.
Aba also has a recent history of insecurity that came to its peak with the crime of kidnapping. Realising that law and order are the conditions for all other socio-economic activities of man, the governor waged a war against insecurity by confronting and combating the menace of kidnapping and other violent crimes that gripped the area. In collaboration with the Federal Government on a three-pronged strategy that involved the Army leading an expedition in Abia, Orji stabilised the state and ensured that peace returned to the once volatile areas. He has continued to sustain this atmosphere by retaining the services of the Army in the area.
With security in place, the governor has gone ahead to woo foreign investors to the state. All the companies that once relocated from the city have returned to Aba. The strategy is to revamp the industrial base that existed in the area. This would assist in creating job opportunities for the teeming youths and boost the governor’s youth empowerment programme.

There is a new picture of Aba, a mental prototype of what Aba should be, in the mind of Ochendo. Thank God, he is today in Aba with full force working towards the actualisation of the Aba of our dreams. The transformation is starting with the construction of 16 roads. The caterpillars are at work. Through Azikiwe, Asa road, Brass, etc, it is a new face for a once fallen city. By the time Ochendo is done, Aba residents will sing a new song. The critics will swallow their words. They will sing eulogies to a man whose entire trajectory in power has been a rescue mission for the people of God’s Own State.

http://southeastnewsonline..com/2012/12/aba-on-gov-ta-orjis-mind.html

Attempts by Ex Gov of Abia State Uzor Kalu to bribe EFCC has hit the rocks, even as his airline business in Gambia faces extinction.
The NAN and Juristslaws reporters gathered that Kalu who is facing trial over the an alleged embezzlement of Abia funds is scared that he is on his way to jail like Ibori his friend. Our source hinted that kalu had set up a meeting with a top operative of EFCC who seems to be pathetic to his travails.
The officer from the North, unknown to him has been under surveillance over his unethical behaviours, accordingly all his movements were trailed. As fate would have it kalus bribe, totalling 1b naira, which the officer claimed will be given to EFCC chairman,was exposed as the top officer was arrested as he was leaving kalus residence near aso rock abuja. Meanwhile, Kalu's airline business in the Gambia is almost folding as the staff of slok airline are resigning over salary arrears of 2years.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/08/ex-abia-state-gov-uzor-klau-attempts-to_29.html

swaggerific: 1.) Reduce the size of government by limiting the number of ministries to 10 and scrapping that Minister of State nonsense cus theres a permanent secretary for that.
2.) Dissolve some states into one. Like the North should get 4 states and the South should get 4 states.
3.) Make the states as we know it now into local governments.
4.) Reduce the size of government by capping the number of state ministries to 7 and reducing the number of permanent secretaries appointed.
5.) Making the governors less powerful by any means necessary.
6.) Introduce an ACT that makes it possible to recall ANY elected official. Especially governors and LGA chairs.
7.) Introduce an ACT that authorizes states to set up and run their own police department because the states know their terrain more than some bureaucrat in Abuja.
8.) Introduce an ACT abolishing the current salary structure of gov officials and capping recurrent expenditure at 30%

You must be a big fool to open your stinking mouth to talk about what you do even have common knowledge of. People like if given the opportunity will take us 60 years back... God forbid... With your stupid and senseless suggestions, people like can't even take care of their home talkless of providing solution to way forward

TAA, actually if I were you guys I would go and hind my face in shame. You think Abians can be deserve for ever. Abians are wise now and they can tell who is who. Your major objective was to undermine government activities, tell me if any good thing has ever come from you. Can't you see nobody care about what you post on your facebook work. The people now know you are a kangaroo movement with no reasonable objective. Shame onto you.

Ehen, if he chop money nko? E get leader for this corrupt country wey no chop money? Abeg make una free OUK

This is a wake up call for the gov and pple of Abia state. Pls, heed to this wonderful advise, suggesting areas that need improvement so as to reclaim the image of the state in good light

This is really good. Abia youths, paying their own respect for the great soldier who love his people. Abia youths from all corners of the state it's time we come together and fight our course ourselves by collaboration and pulling resources together to achieve greatness for ourselves and families. @Chiomen thanks for that insight on the SURE-P. Abia Youths, it's going to be well with us this season, God bless the government of Abia state and all Abians both at home and diaspora,

Nigeria has repatriated around 11,000 foreigners mainly from Niger and Chad over the past six months to curb a growing Boko Haram insurgency, the immigration services said on Monday, according to AFP.
“The latest number of foreigners repatriated as at this morning is 11,000,” immigration services spokesman Joachim Olumba told AFP, updating an earlier figure.


“The bulk of them are from Niger and Chad.”
The extremist Islamist sect Boko Haram blamed for dozens of attacks in Nigeria that have claimed hundreds of lives, is thought to draw some of its members from neighbouring countries.
Olumba said the repatriation “has been intensified in the past six months following the Boko Haram insurgency,” adding: “We have an obligation to rid the country of undesirable elements.”


He said immigration officers last week caught 120 people trying to enter illegally from Niger “and we quickly sent them back to their country”.
Boko Haram’s deadly gun and bomb attacks have shaken Africa’s most populous country which is divided between a mainly Muslim north and predominantly Christian south.
Its base is in northeast Nigeria which borders Cameroon, Chad and Niger.
Violence blamed on Boko Haram, whose specific aims remain largely unclear, has since 2009 claimed more than 1,000 lives, including over 300 this year alone, according to a tally by AFP and activists.
The sect has previously said it wants to create an Islamic state in Nigeria’s deeply impoverished north.
Nigeria’s military authorities last week said Boko Haram has ties with Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM).

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/02/boko-haram-nigeria-deports-11000-aliens.html

INDICATIONS emerged last week on why the Central Bank of Nigeria denied telecommunication operators the license to operate mobile money services.
Representative of the apex bank, from the Shares department, Mr. George Sansa who disclosed this during an interview with newsmen at the 64th NCC consumer parliament held in Lagos argued that granting telecommunication service providers license to offer mobile money services might compromise their primary responsibility of providing quality service in the country.
Following this observation, Sansa said CBN chose to limit the role of the telcos to providing traffic for the exercise.
Rigorous process
“The CBN went through a rigorous process in rolling out the guidelines which are of international standard for the scheme. The operators are supposed to be carriers. In order to avoid a clash, telecoms operators were exempted from the grant of operational license. We wanted to avoid a clash of interests,” Sansa said.
On fraud control, Sansa said CBN had before the commencement of the policy, certain stringent guidelines of international standard were set up to strengthen the operation, adding that an e-fraud forum had also been constituted by the apex bank to oversee cases of fraud that maybe perpetrated in Nigeria and in other jurisdictions.
“We will use that to strengthen our system. As we move on, we will continue to learn and improve because we can do it. It is a continues thing and I’m confident that as Nigerians continue to learn the role, they will achieve perfection at the end of the day.

Mobile Money
On compensation for fraud cases, he said the affected bank will be liable if it was found to be responsible for the lapses but if it occurred as a result of carelessness of the account holder, he will bear the consequence.
In the area of job creation, the CBN representative said he was confident that there will be job increase as millions of jobs will be created as soon as the policy is embraced by more Nigerians.
“By appointing agents, jobs will be created. Just like in the case of GSM, people will apply as agents, start small businesses with this policy by paying DSTV charges, recharge cards, PHCN bills and other important payments. It is a wonderful thing.
We are trying to get a robust guideline with NCC
To ensure the success of the’ scheme, he said dedicated line for e-payment connectivity have been mapped out, adding thattha ongoing effort of federal government to boost power supply in the country, will be a boost to the mobile money service.
“We have spent a whole lot of money in communication, advertisement in conjunction with bankers committee and other stakeholders, trying to get people know that there are other avenues for them to bank.
Guaranteed security
Telling them that it is so convenient to bank with their phones. Security is guaranteed, so long as you did not expose your pin.”
“We have done the first phase for Lagos and we have seen that there is need to do more. We are on the drawing board to get to other areas. Change they say is difficult to come by but it will succeed. We cannot continue like this because banks spend too much money to process cash. Some people see mobile banking as an impossibility but when more people begin to use it, others will follow,” said Sansa.
Also speaking, representative of NCC, Mrs Mary Uduma, said that the 66th edition of the NCC Telecoms Consumer Parliament was about new form of banking and payment, aimed at educating Nigerians on the importance of the policy.
“The essence is for education, information and to empower participants to be able to know their rights, when it comes to mobile payment and mobile money. Our main function is to make sure that subscribers are protected and to ensure quality of service. We will continue to monitor network quality and service.
“We don’t see too much of challenge in that if you are able to send the message with GSM handsets you will be able to participate in mobile banking,” said Uduma.
She however assured the commitment of NCC to working with CBN to develop regulatory guidelines that will ensure a seamless operation of the system and also said that the commission is committed to educating people more in the local language to enable them know how to adapt to the new monetary transaction and also continue to protect them by constant monitoring of the network.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/02/why-we-refused-telcos-mobile-money.html

Two bomb blasts rocked Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria this morning, killing a policeman.
The first blast happened at Angwar Seriki area of Kaduna near Kano, a very busy area where fully armed soldiers were mounting survellance.
While the first blast went without any loss of life, the second was devastating as a mobile policeman who moved to the Sheikh Mahommud Gumi Mosque, Kano, Kaduna with a bomb detector was blown up by the bomb.
The level of the blast forced residents of the area to run for their dear lives. The pandemonium continued up till the time of filing this report.
Security operatives including soldiers, mobile and regular policemen have been drafted to the area to comb for more explosives which might have been planted in the vicinity. The security personnel have also cordoned off the Kano area.
An helicopter was hovering around the scene of the blasts, also as part of security measures to curb further explosions in the vicinity.
It is widely believed that the Islamist fundamentalists, the Boko Haram might have planted more bombs in the Kano area of Kaduna. Many residents are afraid tha there could be more explosions. Soldiers and other security personnel have advised people including journalists to leave the scene of the blasts in their own interest.

Source: PM News

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/02/2-bombs-rock-kaduna-on-valentines-day.html

A woman who gave birth to quadruplets after 17 years of marriage has advised couples in need not to lose hope, but strive to seek medical help.
Mrs. Victoria Olayiwola, who resides at Abule-Egba with her husband, gave birth to three girls and a boy at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) on February 9.
The babies who were born through Caesarean section, weighed between 1.75kg and 2.2kg
Forty-two year-old Victoria told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Monday that people should not keep their pains to themselves but reach out for medical assistance.
She said that reaching out had paid off for her family, adding that with trust in God and patience, hope would always be kept alive.
“Words cannot describe how I feel right now and I am very thankful to God for my bundles of joy,” she said.
The mother told NAN that she was extremely joyful at the delivery of her babies who were all healthy and felt very strong, hale and hearty.
She said that she was not under pressure from her in-laws during the waiting period.
Victoria encouraged parents who were expecting multiple births to have faith in Nigerian medical doctors rather than go abroad as there are good hands in the country.
Her husband, Olusegun, a pastor, said that seeking constant medical consultation coupled with faith in God and lack of pressure from family members rekindled their hope.
The 48-year-old husband told NAN that even before his wife conceived, he had told everyone who cared to listen that he would not give birth to less than three babies at God’s given time.
“Therefore, when after the first scan, we were told we would have triplets and about three weeks later we were told we were now going to have quadruplets, I was not surprised”, he said.
Olusegun said that they did not consider adoption an option as they had been certified okay by medical experts and they knew that God’s time is the best.
“We never considered adoption as we knew that when God decided that it was time to give us kids, he would.
“We were also lucky not to have been pressured by our family members as happens in most cases where the woman is mostly blamed.
“We are thankful and we are telling others that the fact that one is late to have something does not mean that one will not have it eventually,” he said.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/02/woman-gives-birth-to-quadruplets-after.html

TO achieve effective community policing and check the current security situation in the country, Abia State Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Umeh Kalu, has advised the federal government to allow state police.

Speaking with The Nation in Umuahia, Kalu said governors are not in charge of the state in terms of security, which is why there are various security problems across the country, as they depend on the state police commissioners who must take orders from the Inspector-General of Police before acting.

Kalu noted that, “The state governors are not truly the state chief security officers of their different states and the only way to ensure they are really in-charge of their states is to allow state police to exist, which will make them to be fully in-charge for security to be effectives in their states”.

He said that the federal government police will always be there and be allowed to exist side by side with the state police, pointing out that they will complement each other, while security situation in the country will be greatly improved.

On the fear that governors may abuse state police, Kalu said “the governors will never abuse the usage of the state police, the state houses of assembly will always be there to monitor their activities and ensure compliancy”.

The Abia state judiciary boss said the courts in the state have been computerised, stressing that it has helped the judiciary to be up and doing unlike what has been happening before now and that it is very easy for the workers to access materials for any court case.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/insecurity-nigeria-needs-state-police.html

Sometimes, i wonder how this a half baked individual can be parading himself as an intellectual. It's quite unfortunate to have someone like that as a leader,

Financial market experts at Standard Bank had predicted that Nigeria would post a current account surplus of 11.2 per cent of her Gross Domestic Product (GDP) this year.

Current account is one of the primary components of balance of payments (BoP). It is one of the two major metrics of the nature of a country's foreign trade. A current account surplus increases a country's net foreign assets.

Standard Bank stated this in a report titled: “African Markets Revealed, January 2012,” a copy of which was e-mailed to THISDAY Wednesday.

The report showed that Nigeria’s current account to GDP stood at 8.2 per cent as at the end of 2011.

However, the international bank expressed concern that official trade statistics had remained problematic in the economy, “because of the continued disconnect between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) time series and an unexplained surge in imports in 2010.”

It argued: “This spike pushed down the aggregate trade balance and current account surplus to record low. Unlike the NBS data, CBN figures point to an improvement in the trade balance in 2011. We expect the import discrepancy to be eventually addressed and see Nigeria posting a current account surplus of 11.2 per cent of GDP in 2012.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/analysts-forecast-current-account.html

sbeezy8:
when SE decide to make BH a national issue and not single out their ethnic group - it will become a national issue where as all people north,west,ss,se and mb will protest against GEJ weak azz security.

Its not a yoruba igbo hausa edo bini berom issue.

Boko haram has bombed MOSQUES and Churches killed muslims and christian, northerners and southerners

when did BH bomb mosque? which mosque? Let them start bombing more mosque, so that I will believe that they are being objective with their bombings. BH my ass

ABUJA—WORRIED by the killings of Nigerians, especially Igbo, in some Northern parts of the country, South-East Senators, Wednesday, urged Northern governors and traditional rulers to call to order their subjects and educate them on the need to respect the sanctity of human life.

The Senators also called on governors from the north to come out and condemn the killings as well as take appropriate steps to prevent further escalation of what they termed “senseless killings.”

In a statement by the 13 Senators from the South-East geo-political zone, the Senators said: “The Federal Government should wake up to its responsibility of protecting lives and property of all Nigerians wherever they may live.

Cross Section of Abians during a peaceful pProtest against the killings of Igbos in the North and their support for the removal of oil subsidy in Umuahia.

“The state governors and leaders of the affected Northern states should openly condemn these killings and take appropriate steps to prevent further escalation of these senseless killings.

“In this regard, we urge the traditional rulers to call their subjects to order and emphasise the need to respect the sanctity of human life.”

Commend FG on compensation

They also commended the Senate for urging the Federal Government to work out appropriate compensations for victims of these killings, especially victims of the bombing of the Catholic Church at Madalla, Niger State; killings in Mubi, Adamawa State, and Gombe, Yobe and other locations.

They said: “We urge security agencies to give priority to threatened groups, especially the Igbo, in the Northern part of the country, since they appear to be a targetted group in the recent spate of killings.

“We condemn the deafening silence of members of the human rights community and urge them to speak up on these killings.”

Signatories

Senators who signed the statement include: Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, PDP, Enugu West; Senators Nkechi Nwaogu, PDP, Abia North; Enyinnaya Abaribe, PDP, Abia Central; Chris Ngige, ACN, Anambra Central; Matthew Ifeanyi Nwagwu, PDP, Imo North; Sunday Ogbuoji, PDP, Ebonyi South and Hope Uzodinma, PDP, Imo West.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/abujaworried-by-killings-of-nigerians.html

Does this mean that the federal govt is being proactive or what? Why wont they import fish, when all our delta waters have been polluted. Let start importing pigs and goats too

The south westerners are crying that the se and ss did not join in the subsidy protests. They should know that the se people have learnt their lessons and will not allow them, the sw to sabotage them. They are always cowards, when it matters most you find them wanting. The Yorubas have left the north, no single one of them remaining. The Igbo man tha is being killed everyday and still staying back, believing we are one Nigeria, Pls, dont envy the Igbo man, he has learnt his lessons for real. IGBO Ndewo nu!

This is a welcome development, more states in the south east should join in the protests. i wonder for how long the southerners will continue to be killed in the north. The killings has to stop if we are going to continue answering one Nigeria. There's no one Nigeria in this senseless mutilating of innocent and helpless citizens. Northern elders pls intervene, so that we don't have a repeat of what happened in the past

A governorship aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State, Mr. Bimbo Owolabi, has decried the high recurrent expenditure in the budget of the Federal Government and all other tiers of government.

Owolabi said this type of spending would make development a mirage in the country.

Speaking in an interview with our correspondent at Ise-Ekiti on Friday, he said spending more on recurrent expenditure at the expense on capital projects made no business sense and would keep the nation perpetually backward, economically.

He said, “Each year, the recurrent is always more that the money voted for capital projects. This democracy can’t work this way. We need to spend higher on capital projects because these are the things that will bring about the desired development we want in the country.

“It is just like paying your employee higher than the amount you want to sell your product; such company will collapse. If you pay your worker N10,000 to sell products worth N6,000, you do not need economist to tell you that your business is ruined already.”

The PDP chieftain disagreed with those claiming that Nigeria was a very rich country.

Owolabi said if the proceeds which the country got from crude oil was multiplied by 365 days and the answer was divided by 150 million Nigerians, each person would probably get about $250 (N37, 500) in a year.

He added that the nation’s wealth was daily being overstretched because of the high birth rate in the country which he put at about 3.5 per cent per year.

He said this rate translated into additional five million babies every year.

He stated that government at all levels needed to embark on enlightenment programme for the people on the importance of reducing the number of children they give birth to.

http://www.punchng.com/news/nigeria-cant-develop-with-high-recurrent-expenditure/

Security agents in Kaduna yesterday arrested the former chairman of the Petroleum Tankers Drivers in the state, Nuhu Mohammed for allegedly stockpiling arms in the Trikania area of Kaduna.
It was gathered that soldiers from the One Mechanised Division of the Nigeria Army arrived Mohammed’s house along Matawalle road at about midnight. His house was searched and he was whisked away.
One of his neighbours Ibrahim Haruna disclosed that the soldiers after searching his house did not found any incriminating. However, when they searched his second house they found some bullets.
However, it was gathered that the soldiers came back with 10 Hilux vans at about 7am to search the house for the second time, but met a stiff resistance from the youth in the area who hurled stones at them.
Sources told The Nation that his arrest followed a tip-off from residents of the area who alleged that Mohammed popularly known as “Babawo” was arming some youths in the area to cause crisis in the state.
Spokesman of the 1 Division of the Nigerian Army in Kaduna, Lt Col. Abubakar Edun confirmed the arrest in a telephone interview saying “we are doing something about the arrest, when we are through, the press will be communicated”.
Unconfirmed reports have it that Army uniforms, assorted rifles and other dangerous weapons were recovered from the residence of the suspect by security agents after a thorough search was conducted.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/soldiers-arrest-ex-ptd-driver-for.html

After the third day of a nationwide protests, with over a dozen people dead and many more likely to die in the days to come, maybe there is a way to help President Jonathan avoid splashing more blood of innocent Nigerians on his hands. This is more important now that we know that the president is overwhelmed by fights at several fronts, including fighting Boko Haram members that have penetrated the innermost circle of his government.

Based on Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s calculations, there is N1.3 trillion naira in oil subsidy. Ignoring her fuzzy math, she stated that of the amount, N478.49 billion will come to the Federal government. The rest will go to the states and the local government where they will disappear.

As a loyal citizen, I want to help President Jonathan and his advisers to find N479 billion naira so that he will leave the poor people of Nigeria alone for at least a year. Within that year, he should put in place policies that will cushion the impact of the subsidy removal and then gradually take the true subsidy out in a responsible way. That’s after getting the government math right.

So here are the top ten places President Jonathan can get his N479 billion.

1.) Go to the last 36 governors that served with Olusegun Obasanjo. Offer them immunity from prosecution if they all return N10 billion naira each. After all, most of them were facing charges totaling over N100 billion before their files disappeared from the EFCC. That will give President Jonathan N360 billion naira overnight.
2.) Get all former Director-Generals of the NNPC in the last 20 years. Offer them immunity from prosecution if they all return N1billion for every year they were director. Having been part of an agency of the government that does not know how much oil the multinational corporations are sucking up each day and cannot account for the crude oil dedicated for domestic consumption, they should each give the government N1 billion and we let bygone be bygone. This will give Jonathan at least N20 billion.
3.) President Jonathan should cancel all import waivers given to religious leaders in Nigeria for 2012. Nigeria lost billions of naira just on the waivers given to Pastor Adeboye and his likes under the Obasanjo administration - waivers they used to import expensive cars and luxury goods. Who knows what the big Imams get in waivers? Right there, another N10-50 billion will be readily available.
4.) A 50% cut in the salaries and allowances of members of the Nigerian House of Representative. At $1.4 million each for 360 members, Jonathan can easily get $252 million dollars, which is over N40 billion.
5.) In the senate, with 109 senators each making $1.7 million, a 50% cut in their pay package will give President Jonathan over N14.8 billion naira.
6.) President Jonathan should audit the record books of the government with oil importers. A good auditing firm will easily unearth stolen wealth of the nation. Since these so-called cabals are friends of the president, some of them members of his economic team, the president should just ask them to refund N200 billion and we will let bygones be bygone.
7.) The president should, as a matter of urgency, investigate and evaluate all workers associated with the importation of fuel into Nigeria. Those found wanting should be prosecuted and fired. A good investigation of their assets and accounts will recover at least N1billion.
8.) The same thing should be done with staff of the NNPC, both those serving and the retired staff. A good investigation will net over N10 billion.
9.) The security votes of all state governors should be cut by 50%. At an average of N300 million a month, it runs up to N3.6 billion for a year each. For the 36 state governors, that amount is N129.6 billion naira. A 50% cut will give President Jonathan N64.8 billion a year.
10.) The president should close half of Nigerian missions abroad in a major scale back and find other countries to manage Nigeria’s affairs. That will save at least N10 billion.

Putting the savings together, we have N745.6 billion for the President. That is before he touches his food money and his security vote. That is before he touches Olusegun Obasanjo, Abubakar Atiku, Turai Yar’Adua and the heads of all the failed banks.

So next time they tell you that there is no alternative to the immediate removal of the subsidy, tell them it is a lie. There is an alternative to killing unarmed protesters over mere N479 billion naira that Aliko Dangote can close his eyes and donate to his friend, President Jonathan. After all, the Nigerian state has been good to him over the years.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/ten-places-president-jonathan-can-get.html

FIVE years ago, the CIA predicted that in about 10 years ,Nigeria would cease to be a united country, or that it might simply become a “failed state.” Back then, many of us dismissed the prediction as conjecture, mere Western opinion. We even went as far as calling it a form of prejudice against Nigeria.
In 2010, I wrote an article in which I shared a story about how predictions shape the psyche of people and become self-fulfilling.Let me share one more famous example from Greek mythology. It is the example of self-fulfilling prophecy. Oedipus fulfills the oracle’s prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
This is self-fulfilling because it is Oedipus’ actions that made the prophecy come to pass. In the book Social Theory and Social Structure published in 1949, Robert Merton, a 20th century sociologist,argues that self-fulfilling prophecies are false, but are made possible by a person’s or people’s conscious or unconscious actions.
The actions of Nigerian leaders are quickly unfastening the ties that bind Nigeria to life. Through their actions, they have nurtured a death wish, irrigated it like a garden, and let it grow unhindered. The time for the CIA’s prediction to come true is half over, and it is almost becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. Please pardon my pessimism. Anybody who has followed my articles in Vanguard or African Analyst can agree that I am an incurable optimist when it comes to the survival of Nigeria as a nation. But the realities of Nigeria’s future are depressing and grim.

The truth is that Nigeria is on the verge of becoming a failed state. The common characteristics of a failed state include a central government so weak or ineffective that it has lost the ability to protect its citizens. It is also characterised by wide spread corruption and criminality.
In the history of failed states and nations, it is usually the interplay of tumultuous and unfortunate events that come together to spell doom. For instance, it was interplay of tumultuous events that brought the Soviet Union down. First, Gorbachev’s military spending was 35 percent of the Soviet Union’s gross domestic product in a time of economic stagnation. He also introduced the policies of Glasnost and Perestroika, hoping that people would accept the new strategy for rebuilding the Soviet economy. Lastly, was the complete failure of communism to deliver the promised “worker’s paradise”; wages were stagnant, cars and personal transportation became a rarity, and Soviet youth became frustrated with the system. The rest, as they say, is history.
While it would be a logical fallacy to make a direct comparison between Nigeria and the Soviet Union, the point remains that dark clouds are threatening Nigeria’s viability as a functioning democratic nation. Nigerian leaders have ignored or stimulated theinterplay of events that threaten to collapse the nation.
Boko Haram, the oil subsidy tumult, Nigerian youth feeling hopeless about their future – when you add these problems to the corruption, even an incurable optimist like myself recognise a recipe for disaster. Visionless leadership has moved the once powerful black nation to the cliff, and perhaps it will only be a few more years before the CIA’s prediction comes true.
But of all the elements coming together to makethe CIA’s prediction a self-fulfilling prophecy, Boko Haram is the most dangerous. If the sole aim of Boko Haram is to make Nigeria ungovernable for Jonathan’s administration, the strategy is bad.

I condemn the killing of innocent Nigerians. But my fear about Boko Haram is that they will soon find out that their strategy of bombing churches and public places in Nigeria will not expose the weakness of Jonathan’s administration to the world. Mainly because the world knows that many other administrations have witnessed similar killings and that Nigerians are used to it. Managing the internal situation is only a matter of propaganda. For instance, the government has assured the world that Nigeria is a safe place to do business.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/cias-prediction-boko-haram-and-matters.html

Except something urgent happens, the Nigerian state may be headed to a complete failure. The worrying signals became more pronounced in the weeks preceding the last yuletide season. As at today, popular streets in Abuja, Nigeria’s rocky capital become deserted as early as 6pm every day, same as in many state capitals. Palpable fear has gripped the population and the feeling of insecurity is pervasive.
The threats of the dreaded Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram have been followed with successive attacks leading to massive destruction of lives and properties, with the majority of the victims coming from amongst innocent citizens, worshipping peacefully in Christian churches as well as law enforcement agents.
Nigerian security agencies have often been caught unawares, hiding under the excuse that the phenomenon of Islamic militancy is a new one. Christians in the northern part of the country have been particularly targeted by these insurgents who are said to be clamouring for the imposition of an Islamic state governed by Shari’a laws. The federal government in the perceived hot bed zones of the terrorists has imposed a state of emergency but this has done little to reduce frequency of the attacks. Rather, many more states are witnessing these attacks, underlining the ineffectuality and insufficiency of the response strategy of the government. Citizens are in a state of panic as rampaging Islamist insurgents first, handed down threats to Christian southerners living in the Muslim dominated northern Nigeria to leave, and then followed up their threats with concentrated scattered mayhem.
Prominent opinion leaders believe that the Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan’s handling of the situation has been less than satisfactory. A wind of disgruntlement is blowing across the land. Ayo Oritsejafor leader of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the national umbrella organisation of Nigeria’s more than 76 million Christians, has warned that the continuous indifference of Northern leaders towards incessant killing of Christians is an open invitation to civil war, http://thejuristlaws..com/

Killing of Igbo's in Nigeria by their fellow Nigerians of Northern Nigerian Muslim extraction seems to be a yearly ritual. But the recent killings by a radical Islamic sect called Boko Haram (Western education is meaningless) that operates mostly from North East Nigeria that culminated in the Christmas day bombing and the resultant killing of mostly Igbo's during worship in a Catholic church in Madalla, Niger state and the follow-on killings afterwards that culminated in the killing of over twenty (20) Igbo's in Mubi, Adamawa state, Nigeria on Friday, January 06, 2012 and without adequate protection of Igbo's by the Nigerian state is now alarming. The same sect – Boko Haram – had hitherto issued a warning for all non Muslims to depart from Northern Nigeria. Igbo's constitute a majority of the non Muslims.

It is pertinent at this juncture to let my fellow Igbo's know that the Nigerian government owned media outfit, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) did not air the Friday, January 06, 2012 killing of Igbo's in its prime news whilst other media outfits around the world did.

But the most worrying and pathetic aspect of these mindless killing of innocent Igbo's by their fellow Nigerians of Northern Nigerian Muslim extraction, besides the inability of the Nigerian state to protect them, is the silence of Igbo politicians especially the governors of the five Igbo states that have the resources more than any other person or group to stand up for their people being exterminated like a lamb to the slaughter. For the uninitiated, the five Igbo states are, Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo. Then, there are the added silences from Igbo politicians within the ruling party, PDP and apex socio political group called Ohaneze. These silences are at best disgusting and at worst conspiratorial. It is disgusting for the governors prefer protecting their own individual gains to the gains of the people they swore to protect. It is conspiratorial for the governors are in cahoots with the anti Igbo forces that put them in power to murder their fellow Igbo's. Silence is consent.

These silences goes to the heart of how Igbo politicians emerge to 'leadership' positions in Nigeria after the 1966 - 1970 civil war, of which the Igbo's came out second best. Since the end of that war, persons who are usually light weights within Igbo communities and other aspect of life have being fostered on Igbo's as 'leaders' by the Nigerian state whilst genuine Igbo leaders that have command and respect of the Igbo community have been sidelined. The rest of Nigeria play their first eleven in the Nigerian political game whilst external forces foster fifth eleven on the Igbo's with the resultant vacuum in intellect, integrity and respect within the Igbo polity. These challenges have also permeated the Igbo chieftaincy institution that known fraudsters, political and economic jobbers are now traditional rulers fostered on the people from above.

This author, Odenigbo Chidi Anyaeche has chosen the governors in particular to castigate for this nauseating silence, for they are the ones that have the office, the resources and the reach to defend my people. If we recall, in 1966 when a similar situation arose, a young Igbo army officer and governor of the then sole Igbo state, Eastern Nigeria, by name Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu RIP rose to the challenge and defended Igbo's vigorously. That vigorous challenge led to the Nigerian civil war of 1966 – 1970.

It is noteworthy to compare the calibre and intellect of the late Odumegwu Ojukwu and the modern day governors to see why Igbo's have a leadership problem right now. Ojukwu in a nutshell was an Oxford educated and Sandhurst trained army officer and was not fostered on the Igbo's by the rest of Nigeria.

None of the current Igbo governors can compare with him in this regard and therein lays the problem. If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys. Political and intellectual lilliputs are now running the affairs of the Igbo states and rather than answer to their people, they are answering to the non-Igbo masters that placed them in power. The Igbo race that can boast of world class individuals in every aspect of life are been ruled by utter mediocres that are brain dead and care only for what they can loot from the treasury rather than service to their people; so sad.

Just to digress a little, last year (2011) the Igbo governor of Abia state sacked all Igbo's that are not from his state from the employ of the state (whilst retaining non-Igbo's) in sheer disregard to the body and the spirit of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that grants the citizens the right to work in any state of the federation. The Attorney General of Nigeria did not see it fit to challenge this assault on the constitution of Nigeria, but most importantly the rest of the Igbo governors acquiesced with this behaviour of the Abia state governor. It is pertinent to point out that no state in Nigeria has ever carried out such a barbaric act on their fellow Nigerians of same ethnicity.

Every cloud has a silver lining goes the saying, perhaps this conspiracy of silence by Igbo governors in the face of massive killing of Igbo's by Northern Nigerian Muslims is the silver lining that Igbo's need to wake up and retake power from these reprobates that has been fostered on us. It may also be the silver lining the Nigerian states needs to address the unanswered question about the unity or not of the country.

These senseless killing of the Igbo's (or any other race) must end and right now and may great shame visit these spineless politicians especially the governors of Igbo extraction.

And to my fellow Igbo's, please look no farther, the enemy is amongst us. They are one of us.

May the souls of our fallen brethrens rest in perfect peace and May Almighty God give their loved ones the strength to carry on. Their deaths will never be in vain; NEVER.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/why-northernersre-fleeing-warri-by.html

WARRI- AS Hausas move out in droves from Warri, Delta State, following perceived fear of attacks, Chairman of the Hausa community in Warri, Alhaji Isah Alkali, has said that allegations that they were running due to rumour mongers was not true.
He said in a chat with Vanguard in Warri, that the exodus was occasioned by activities of hoodlums in Warri, who occasionally attacked wrist–watch, sugar-cane, yam and onion sellers of Northern origin and cart away their wares, cash and GSM phones.
Alhaji Alkali said they were living in peace with indigenes of the state as nobody had ever threatened them in any way.
He maintained that the rumours of war were all lies intended to cause a breach of the peace, adding that both Christians and Muslims are brothers and worship the same God.
He said that while some were fleeing, others, especially traders with trailer loads of ram, chicken, sugar-cane and herds of cow, were trooping daily into Warri, for their businesses in and around the busy Ugbuwangue community market and the Hausa quarters in the Igbudu community of the oil city.
Confirming the exodus of the Hausa traders and Muslims from Ugbuwangue community, chairman of the Youth Working Committee, Prince Francis Yowunren, urged them to report any rumour of impending attacks to him, and allayed their fears of any attack in Ugbuwangue community.
Yowunren said Delta State was a peaceful place for all Nigerians and advised them to go about their legitimate business as nobody would cause them any harm.
He advised the Boko Haram sect to stop further killings of Southerner and Christians in the North as it was causing suspicions amongst peace loving Nigerians.

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/why-northernersre-fleeing-warri-by.html

http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/protesters-in-kaduna-denounce-fuel.html

KADUNA – Scores of mostly youths, Thursday, stage a peaceful protest in Kaduna condemning the sudden high price of petrol.
The youth who staged the peaceful protest around the famous Lugard Hall Roundabout, by the Kaduna State House of Assembly, Unguwan Shanu, displayed various placards with inscriptions such as: “Mr. President is wicked; We need change in Nigeria; Save our father land; Build more refineries; No to subsidy removal; This is badluck”!
The youths were protesting under the banner of Occupy Nigeria led by Tajudeen Oladoja.
Protesters in Kaduna
Speaking to the crowd. Oladoja said, “we have decided to show our displeasure and lack of support on the new policy of subsidy removal.
“The government argument is that if we do not stop funding fuel subsidy the economy will crash and we will go down with it. But are there no other places to reduce spending to save money?
For more, go to http://thejuristlaws..com/2012/01/protesters-in-kaduna-denounce-fuel.html